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A gospel preacher was on Thursday arrested for boarding a Lagos/Ogun bound train without tickets and preaching the gospel on the train.
The preacher is well known joining the train at Itoki, Ogun State, and staying in the first coach where he preached loudly, a development the passengers said was disturbing
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who was aboard the train reports that the preacher was arrested alongside some other illegal passengers at Agbado Train Station in Ogun.
The preacher and others were arrested by the taskforce assigned by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to ensure law and order and arrest passengers and preachers in the train who did not have tickets.
NAN reports that passengers in the train had in the past lodged complaints to the management of the corporation against the man whom they accused of disturbing them with his preaching.
The head of the taskforce, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that one of the rules binding every passenger in the train says: “No Preaching’’ and “No Passenger without Ticket’’ on train.
He added that the preacher and the other arrested passengers will be charged to court for boarding the train without tickets.
He said the penalty for any offence carried N25,000 fine or three months imprisonment. Asked why the preacher has not been arrested until Thursday, the official said that he must have been “intimidating’’ the ticket checkers with his preaching.